Toy railway track and trestle



Jan.5, 1960 P. T. coNNELL Toy RAILWAY TRACK AND TREsTLE 3 SheetsJ-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 12, 1956 M A n .ML

hdd/1 r E i. H N lhllwh. Q W ,I kOln ,/f @A E A M /V l u a/0 W Y B a @Q w3 M Jan. 5, 1960 P. 1'. coNNx-:LL

' Toy RAILWAY TRACK AND TRESTLE s sheets-sheet 2 Filed Sept. l2, 1956 ATTORN EY Jan. 5, 1960 P. T. coNNELL -2,919,515

' TOY RAILWAY TRACK AND TRESTLE Filed sept. 172, 195e s sheets-sheet s u1u wl u r EW ma ZZ kl/ UU PEM/6@ 1n A l-'W Vig-ff -'rov RAILWAY. TRACK AND rnasrtn arent Philip T. Connell, Yalesville, Conn., assigner to Ilhe A. C. Gilbert Company, New Haven, Conn., a corporation of Maryland This invention relates to a knockdown trestle for supporting and constraining sectional toy track or the crossties thereof in model or toy railways and particularly to packaged sets of constructional pieces for building such knockdown trestle.

The present application is a continuation in part of my copending application, Serial No. 299,716, filed July 18, 1952, and since abandoned.

f An object ofthe invention is to provide a trestle building set composed of preferably flat cardboard interlocking pieces which, with the exception of varying lengths ofvcertain upright pieces representing pillars or legs in different stanchions, need have only two kinds of outline shape in order to be capable of interlocking detachably one with another in a relationship affording rigidity and strength in the stanchions of toy trestle structure.

, A related object is to provide a self-rigid stanchion that is made proof against weaving by a new way of interfitting two pairs of at cardboard pieces without aid of extraneous fastening means and without permanent mutual attachment of the cardboard pieces to one another.

A further object of the invention is to provide for merchandising such tlat card-like pieces in sets adapted for quick linger assemblage to make up a trestle that is capable of supporting a predetermined course of track and if desired partially at an incline, the pieces being so shaped and arranged that the complete set can be packaged with maximum simplicity and compactness.

These and other objects of the invention will appear in greater particular from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention having reference to the appended drawings wherein:

j Fig. l is a perspective view of a figure-S-shaped course ofinclined model railway track supported at progressively increasing and decreasing elevations by a trestle composed of knockdown parts incorporating the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view drawn on an enlarged scale showing roneof the stanchions and the end portions of joined track" sections supported thereby.

Fig. 3 is a view taken in section on the plane 3 3 in l' Fig. 2.

' Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view taken in section on the plane 4--4 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is al perspective view of. a relatively short stanchion. l

Fig. 6 is a similar view of a relatively taller stanchion.

Fig. 7 is a broadside elevation of one of the pillars in preferred actual size.

Fig. 8 is a broadside elevation of one of the girders in preferred actual size.

Fig. 9 shows one stanchion superimposed upon a like stanchion.

Fig. l() shows on a reduced scale an arranement of outlines of pillars of assorted heights for making trestles of the type shown in Fig. l dinked into cardboard sheets 2,919,515 Patented dan. 5, 1960 of similar overall sizes and shapes constituting a compact merchandising package with minimum waste.

Fig. 11 shows outlines of the pseudo girders dinked in cardboard sheets of corresponding size.

Fig. l shows a figure-S-shaped course of elevated model or toy railroad track supported at an incline by trestle building constructional pieces made and assembled in accordance with the principles of the invention. In the particular layout shown, the course of the track crosses itself at the center of the figure-8 at differing levels. This calls for the various stanchions 12 to be of gradually increasing and decreasing heights in their order of arrangement along the course of the track in order to establish the necessary difference of level at the crossing point of the tracks. Except for their differing heights the stanchions 12 may all be alike.

Each stanchion comprises a pair of pseudo pillars 14 adapted to stand in spaced apart relation laterally of the track. The track may be of conventional toy construction consisting of sectional stretches of rails 16 rigidly united and supported by underlying crossties or sleepers 18. Conventional toy crossties such as 18 consist of sheet metal strips bent to an inverted U shape in cross section forming a channel 211 having the side walls 22 and 24. The terminals of the rails 16 are usually hollow at one end 26 of each track section to provide a socket that can be ttingly entered by projecting plugs 28 cart ried xedly at the end of the rails of the adjoining track section so as to hold the rail sections in alignment.

According to this invention to form a rigid stanchion there is combined with two of the pillars 14 only a pair of companion pseudo girders 30. Each girder presents an upward directed top edge and at least one such top edge in each pair of companion girders is saddled by one of the sleepers 18 and occupies the channel 2i) therein. lt is found that when two such girders are interfitted detachably with the top end of each of the pillars 14 of a single stanchion in the manner shown in Figs. 5 and 6, with the girders spaced apart lengthwise of the track and spanning the space between the tops of the pillars, that a skeleton stanchion structure of very great strength -and rigidity results even when the pillars 14 and the girders Sti are but simple flat pieces blanked from moderately stiff cardboard. Readily detachable firm intertting of the girders 3l) with the pillars is accomplished by inserting the thickness of the somewhat compressible body of the girder card with a sliding press tit into notches 32 in the top edge of the pillar cards. This involves simultaneously inserting the thickness of the somewhat compressible body of the pillar cards with a sliding press fit into the notches 34 of the girder cards.

y As shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 8 the top margin of each girder card 30 has a cutout 36 forming a niche therein whereby the top edge of the girder card forms a depressed, track supporting seat with upstanding shoulders at the ends thereof flanking the track in a manner to limit displacement thereof lengthwise of the girder card relatively to the supporting stanchion. Cutout 36 as herein shown may have a length about equal to the length of track crossties 18 so that the crossties will seat in and be constrained endwise in this cutout. Or the shoulders formed by ends of the cutout may more closely flank the track rails themselves between the crossties of the track. The girder cards 30 of each pair in each of the stanchions may be spaced from each other lengthwise of the course of track an amount just about equal to the distance between the side walls 22 and 24 of the terminal crossties at the joined ends of adjacent track sections wherefore the rail ends are kept from separating while the plugs 28 occupy sockets 26 and maintain rail alignment.

ln the aforedescribed construction the girder cards 30 have vertical broadside surfaces and present one edge aislante upward in order to afford strong support for the track, and the notches 34 in each girder card are inclined toward each other in an upward direction to correspondingly incline the pillars 14 and thereby cause the bottoms of the latter in each stanchion to be somewhat farther apart than are the tops or the pillars. This lends a strength producing bracing effect and great resistance to tilting of the stanchions and constitutes a new function in joints between girders and their supporting pillars where the girders and pillars are separable and not xedly united.

Figs. 8 and 9 show each of the girder cards 30 provided with an extra pair of notches 38 on a slant parallel with that of the notches 34 and spaced from the latter by such dimension as will adapt notches 38 to receive the bottom edges of a pair of pillar cards 14 that may be superimposed upon stanchion 12 to constitute an upper deck stanchion 12.

Fig. 1() shows a set of dinked cardboard sheets of uniform overall size which may be stacked compactly in a shallow box or package. In sheet 42 there are dinked four each of the shortest pillars 74 and in sheet 48 there are dinked four each of the tallest pillars 52. Pillars 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 66, 7G and 72 are nested in the rectangular area embraced by each of sheets 42, 44, 46 and 823 in the manner shown in Fig. and by linger manipulation can selectively be separated from the sheets and from the strips of scrap 78 that intervene between the pillar forming pieces.

The girders 36 being all alike can likewise have a plurality of their shapes 80 dinked from a rectangular sheet of cardboard 52 of about the same dimensions as sheets 42, 44, 46 and 48 as shown fragmentarily in Fig. 11, leaving scrap areas 84 to be discarded when the girders are separated from the sheet. The pillars may be surface ornamented as by printing, to represent masonry and the girders can likewise be ornamented to represent timbers.

While cardboard is herein mentioned as a possible material of which the parts can be made, equivalently compressible soft materials are possible of use and the appended claims are directed to and intended to cover all equivalents of and variants of the exact embodiment of the invention herein described as come fairly within the broadest interpretation of the recital of the invention contained in the claims.

I claim:

1. A toy railway trestle stanchion comprising four relatively thin llat cardboard members of which two of said members are elongate horizontally extending girder members and the other two of said members are upstanding pillar members crossed and interengaged by said girder members, said pillar members standing on their bottom edges and having top edges each interrupted by two spaced notches slightly narrower than the thickness of the girder members sunk rom said top edges and occupied respectively by said girder members, the bottom margin of each of said girder members containing spaced notches of opposite Obliquity slightly narrower than the thickness of the pillar members and occupied respectively by the latter in a manner to hold said pillar members in relatively inclined positions with their said bottom edges farther apart than their said top edges, and the top margins of said girder members containing two additional notches spaced farther apart than the top edges of said pillar members wherefore to receive the bottom edges of additional pillar members for supporting a superstructure on and over said stanchion.

2. A knockdown toy track and trestle combination comprising, laterally spaced apart rails forming a continuous course of toy track, a series of sleepers spaced along said course of track xedly connecting said rails and each presenting a downward opening channel bridging the space between said rails, pairs of thin flat stiff companion toy girders of relatively compressible sheet material spaced along said course, at least one girder of each of said pairs presenting an upward directed top edge saddled by one of said sleepers and occupying said channel therein in a manner to limit relative displacement of said track rails relative to said girder lengthwise the course of track, and each of said girders presenting downward directed bottom edges containing in the adjacent lower margin of the girder two oblique deep narrow notches inclined toward each other in an upward direction, and pairs of thin iiat stiff companion toy pillars upstandiug on their bottom edges beneath said girders presenting upward directed top edges each firmly and withdrawably lodged respectively in said oblique slots in companion girders of one of said pairs with a suiciently tight tit to hold said pillar members tixedly inclined toward each other in an upward direction, whereby to brace the knockdown trestle crosswise said course of track with suiiicient rigidity to prevent relative weaving movement between said separable companion pairs of girders and pillars and thereby enable said trestle stably to support the track.

3. A toy railway trestle as defined in claim 2. in which each of the said girder members has a niche forming cutut in its top margin whereby the top edge of each girder member forms a depressed seat with upstanding shoulders at the ends thereof tianking the ends of the said sleeper in a manner to limit displacement thereof lengthwise of said girder member crosswise the track.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 212,630 shepherd Feb. 2'5, 1879 1,311,337 Fredson July 29, 1919 1,645,336 McGlothern Oct. l1, 1927 1,911,240 Rosenthal May 30, 1933 2,347,561 Howard et al. Apr. 25, 1944 2,429,109 Roach Oct. 14, 1947 2,724,211 Bloom Nov. 22, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 258,286 Italy Apr. 13, 1928 

